Auburn Mayor Bob Snyder well knows the political adage that perception often becomes reality.
Snyder and his city council colleagues had a standing-room-only audience for their meeting this week as they tackled two items of intense public interest, one of which touched on the perception/reality notion that evolved from the recently adopted amended redevelopment plan.
(Editor’s note: This is the third in a three-part series).
Having successfully retrieved our crew at Red Star Ridge, we loaded up in the Jeeps and headed to our next destination: Devil’s Thumb. Getting there involved more rocky, bumpy dirt roads, but as we came through some trees, the view opened up to reveal a breathtaking landscape of rock formations, trees and ridge lines set against a deep blue sky. With barely enough juice left to turn on, I managed to snap a few quick still photos from my seat. Kathleen Sailor swapped lenses on her camera and began to click away. Soon, we were off again. I put away my still camera, the battery dead. I had a nearly full battery on my digital video camera, though, when we pulled into our destination a little before noon.
Accused wife killer Paul Kovacich Jr. was working the phone in the Placer County Jail at mid-week in the hope of raising the $50,000 he needs to bail out of the place.
The money he’s trying to scratch up would be the 10 percent fee on the $500,000 bail bond he needs to complement the nearly $1 million worth of relatives’ and friends’ properties that were put up as security several months ago. Now his bail is $1.5 million, thanks to Superior Court Judge Robert McElhany’s ruling last week
Consumer demand for the Placer County Water Agency’s No. 1 product -- water -- is up 12 percent this year, which happens to be the PCWA’s second highest water-use year on record.
In a report to the PCWA’s governing board last week, Mike Nichol, the agency’s field services chief, attributed the increased use of water two factors:
County will have a key ‘say’ in huge Thunder Valley expansion
The
United Auburn Indian Community’s megamillion-dollar expansion plan for
its Thunder Valley Casino near Lincoln will indeed undergo intense
scrutiny by the County of Placer despite the tribe’s sovereignty.
The tribe’s plan for enlarging the four-year-old casino is, to put it mildly, spectacular.
The
plan envisions a 23-story, 650-room hotel — by far the tallest
structure in Placer County — as well as a 3,000-seat performing arts
theater, ballrooms, a nine-story garage for parking 5,000 vehicles,
additional restaurants and, of course, more space in which to gamble.
Because I consider myself “Leadership’s Biggest Fan,” I was truly excited when the class of 2007 elected me to speak at our graduation ceremony on June 29. As I collected my thoughts and put them in order, I was excited to be graduating and sad that our official time together was coming to an end. We met each other in October expecting to learn about Auburn and what makes it tick. What we didn’t expect was the friendships we’d make along the way. We expected classmates, and we found friends.
Last summer, my wife urged me to enroll in the Leadership Auburn program. I protested, hemmed and hawed, and argued that I already knew the various aspects of the city because it was my job. Hearing none of it, she dragged me to the Auburn Chamber of Commerce and supervised me as I filled out the application form and forked over my $25 deposit. Rachel graduated from the program in June of 2006 and believed I would get a lot out of the experience.
(Editor’s note: This is the second in a three-part series).
After a chilly night near Lyon Ridge, we were positioned along the trail to shoot video and take still pictures early Saturday morning. Others of our crew (Bridget Powers, Monti Reynolds and Kathleen Sailor) set out to tackle about 5.5 miles of the course to get footage and photos in the midst of the runners. As I mentioned last week, runner #240, Jim Jones, was someone we were keeping an eye on since we had met him at the Bar of America in Truckee the night before. Jones indeed remembered our group as he ran by, but I’m getting ahead of myself.
(Editor’s note: This is the first in a three-part series).
At the urging of “Endurance Capital of the World” cheerleaders, I ventured out to cover the Western States Endurance Run for the first time and I came away with a newfound respect for the athletes who take part in this grueling challenge.
Placer County officials recently bestowed outstanding employee awards on several county workers while also saluting two employee teams, including the one that helped crack the Mario Garcia murder case.
The awards were presented at an employee recognition barbecue at DeWitt Center. CEO Tom Miller emceed the event and Supervisors Jim Holmes and Kirk Uhler were among the speakers.
The
United Auburn Indian Community’s megamillion-dollar expansion plan for
its Thunder Valley Casino near Lincoln will indeed undergo intense
scrutiny by the County of Placer despite the tribe’s sovereignty.
