Before we get into a story that involves dams, reservoirs, and irony: A reminder that this edition of The Newsletter includes, as always, a carefully curated news digest that makes it easy for you to quickly find the most important stories happening in your community this week. Also: A brief intro to a nonprofit doing good work AND a seasonal recipe. It's an effortless scroll—but first:
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By Eric Johnson
Published Sep 16, 2024
Loch Lomond, the reservoir that supplies the city of Santa Cruz with a significant portion of its drinking water, is also a beautiful recreational and natural resource.
Dams and Reservoirs: Up and Down
California Dams Get Raised and Razed
As a lifelong sworn environmentalist, I have always felt a little bit guilty about the fact that I love reservoirs—and if I'm honest the dams that create them. As a kid growing up in New Jersey just outside Manhattan, the Oradell Reservoir was my refuge, and the place where I discovered nature. When I moved to the Santa Cruz Mountains soon after high school, the Loch Lomond reservoir was walking distance from my home and became another refuge.
I saw my first eagle at the Oradell Reservoir when I was 16, and my first mountain lion at Loch Lomond when I was 19. I mention this not out of pure nostalgia, but to pont out that beyond their intended benefit of storing water for human use, reservoirs can be inherently good, in that they support rich and healthy ecosystems. And yes: Dams throughout California and the West have massively disrupted fisheries and threaten keystone species such as Chinook salmon with extinction.
So this week, a nuanced look at some dams throughout the state that are going up and coming down.
The Ups and Downs of California Dams
We check in on efforts to raise some dams in the state to store more water, and to raze some dams to to let water run free.
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Placer County's Homepage |
| Direct your browser to https://placer.californialocal.com/ to catch up on the latest news in California and Placer County. Bookmark the link and visit often, there's a lot happening in your community! | |
Recipe of the Week
Our friends at Sacramento Digs Gardening publish a recipe from their gardens every Sunday, which we feature here so you can start your week with some yum.
See more recipes in their Taste Fall! cookbook.
Get to Know a Group
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Big Brothers Big Sisters |
Big Brother Big Sisters provides children facing adversity with strong, enduring, professionally supported mentorship. The chapter serves Sacramento and Yolo counties, as well as southern Placer County.
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From Our Media Allies |
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Community Invited to Participate in Placer Zoning Text Amendment Workshops, Town Hall Meeting |
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The Placer County Community Development Resource Agency is seeking public input into its proposed 2024 Zoning Text Amendment initiative, with multiple workshops beginning in September and a town hall meeting Oct. 15. |
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Placer Supervisors Ask Governor for Insurance State of Emergency |
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With residents and businesses facing dire insurance affordability challenges, the Placer County Board of Supervisors on September 10 approved a resolution asking California Governor Gavin Newsom to declare a state of emergency for homeowners and commercial property insurance. |
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Community Invited to Participate in Zoning Text Amendment Town Hall Meeting |
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The Placer County Community Development Resource Agency is seeking public input into its proposed 2024 Zoning Text Amendment initiative, with multiple workshops beginning in September and a town hall meeting Oct. 15. |
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Funding Awarded to Reduce Wildfire Risk and Increase Vegetation Management in North Lake Tahoe |
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In an effort to reduce wildfire risk in North Lake Tahoe, the Placer County Board of Supervisors on September 10 approved a $145,491 contract award to Bella Wildfire & Forestry Inc. to fund vegetation management and fuel load reduction work … |
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Supervisors to Hear Gutted Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan |
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The Village at Palisades Tahoe Specific Plan will be heard by the County Board of Supervisors later this year after the Placer County Planning Commission gave conditional approval to the redevelopment project with modifications to the Mountain Adventure Camp facility. |
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Rocklin Assistant City Manager Announces Retirement |
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Rocklin Assistant City Manager Sherri Conway recently announced her intention to retire in December. Conway was hired as assistant city manager in October 2021 with 30 years of experience serving municipalities in New York state and Placer County. |
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Vulnerable to Cyber Attack, Loomis Replaces Computers |
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Found vulnerable to computer hackers, Loomis Town government is doubling down on cybersecurity. |
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Hundreds Attend Lincoln Protest of Homeless Medical Respite Center |
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Hundreds of community members showed up Saturday to protest the proposed homeless medical respite center at 1660 3rd street in Lincoln. |
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Placer County Ranks Number One in the Nation for Firewise USA Communities |
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Placer County is now the top-ranked county in the United States and California for the number of communities participating in the Firewise USA program. |
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Gold Country Fair Junior Livestock Auction Yields 3,500 Pounds of Meat for Feed the Hungry of Auburn |
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Animals purchased by Feed the Hungry of Auburn during the Junior Livestock Auction at the Gold Country Fair last week and several others donated by the community will yield roughly 3,500 pounds of meat for food shelters and closets. |
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Placer Parks Administrator Honored for Fostering Community, Connection to Environment |
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Each year, the community selects nine honorees to highlight for their above-and-beyond service to the city through the Auburn Chamber of Commerce’s Celebrate the Community Awards. Parks Administrator Andy Fisher will be honored next month with the Placer County Award. |
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Fall in Tahoe Is Delicious |
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Culinary delights abound in Tahoe from farm-to-table festivals celebrating the bounties of the harvest, to craft beer and local wine food pairings to a cornucopia of Bavarian-themed Okotberfests. Tahoe's gastronomic events in the fall will delight even the most discriminating … |
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Arts Essential Part of Tahoe’s Community |
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Artists of nearly every medium are called to work, live and create in Tahoe and Truckee from painters and sculptors to fiber artists, songwriters, authors and poets to dancers and musicians, among many others. The arts also represent an important, … |
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Recent Local News |
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• Pacer County Moving Forward With Hidden Falls Regional Park Expansion
In their September 10 meeting, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved the expansion of Hidden Falls Regional Park by 600 acres and the construction of an additional 8 miles of trails.
(09/16/2024) → Roseville Today• Bidding Farewell: Auburn City Council Honors Police Chief Kinnan Before His Last Day
Kinnan was honored with an official accommodation and a golden desk clock to mark his nearly six years of service to the city. Kinnan recently announced he would be resigning and was hired as the police chief of Woodland.
(09/13/2024) → Gold Country Media• Auburn Municipal Airport to Mark 90 Years With Community Celebration
The airport has been a cornerstone of Auburn and the surrounding region, evolving from its early days as a mail route stop into a vital hub of aviation and community development. On Oct. 12, the community is invited to come together to celebrate its 90th anniversary.
(09/13/2024) → Gold Country Media• Placer County Agriculture Report Released
The Placer County agriculture report for 2023 was released, and showed a small but steady increase in crop value over the previous year.
(09/13/2024) → Roseville Today|
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Recent Statewide News |
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• Audit of Military Equipment Used By UC Police
In compliance of state law, the University of California Regents will be considering the attached audit of inventory and use of military equipment by UC police and a budget request for additional items.
(09/15/2024) → University of California• Which Growing California Communities Will Get the Hottest?
California’s inland regions are experiencing dangerous heat waves, exacerbated by rapid population growth. As more people move away from the expensive coastal areas to more affordable inland communities, these regions are seeing significant demographic changes and spiking electricity bills.
(09/13/2024) → CalMatters• CA Cities Jump on Homeless Encampment Bans
For five years, California officials responding to the homelessness crisis had to work around one big restriction imposed by the federal courts: Because they didn’t have enough shelter beds, cities generally couldn’t make homeless camps illegal.
(09/13/2024) → CalMatters• No Sleeping Bags, Keep Moving: California Cities Increase Crackdown on Homeless Encampments
More than two-dozen California cities passed, strengthened or are considering ordinances that penalize people for sleeping outside, after the U.S. Supreme Court allowed cities to crack down.
(09/11/2024) → CalMatters• California Schools Face Twin Perils: Chronic Absenteeism and Declining Enrollment
California’s public schools have a numbers problem —and it’s not just that their students don’t score very highly in national tests of mathematics ability.
(09/11/2024) → CalMatters• H5N1 Bird Flu Infects California Dairy Cows
H5N1 bird flu has been reported in three California dairy herds.
(09/11/2024) → Los Angeles Times• CA Homeless Count Is Up 8% From 2022
An exclusive CalMatters analysis of the latest California homeless count reveals some good news and bad news: Though the growth rate of homelessness appears to be slowing, the overall number of unhoused Californians increased from two years ago.
(09/10/2024) → CalMatters|
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Government Announcements |
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State of California (09/13/2024) Megan Dahle CA Assembly 01: |
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Greetings This week Team Dahle had the privilege of attending the Topping Out ceremony for the Mountain View Skilled Nursing Facility and hospital addition. The ceremony marked a key milestone in bringing this vital facility to Modoc County and I want to give special kudos to Mountain View Skilled Nursing Facility for their dedication to [...]
The post Celebrating Healthcare …
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State of California (09/13/2024) Joe Patterson CA Assembly 05: |
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County of Placer (09/12/2024) Placer County 2023 crop value increases 1% to $89 million amid continuing weather challenges |
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Despite continued weather challenges the total gross value of agricultural crops and products increased 1% in Placer County for 2023.
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County of Placer (09/12/2024) Placer County ranks number one in the nation for Firewise USA Communities |
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Placer County is now the top-ranked county in the United States and California for the number of communities participating in the Firewise USA program.
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County of Placer (09/12/2024) Placer County Supervisors approve Hidden Falls Regional Park Trails Expansion Project Phase 2 |
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The Placer County Board of Supervisors yesterday approved the execution of a contract for the Hidden Falls Regional Park Trails Expansion Project Phase 2.
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County of Placer (09/12/2024) Placer supervisors ask governor for insurance state of emergency |
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With residents and businesses facing dire insurance affordability challenges, the Placer County Board of Supervisors have approved a resolution asking California's governor to declare a state of emergency for homeowners and commercial property insurance.
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County of Placer (09/12/2024) Placer seeks applicants for Charter Review Committee |
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Application Deadline Extended: Are you interested in having direct input into the organizational structure, duties and responsibilities of the countys elected and appointed officials? Apply for our Charter Review Committee by Sept. 30.
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State of California (09/12/2024) Joe Patterson CA Assembly 05: |
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County of Placer (09/12/2024) Funding awarded to reduce wildfire risk and increase vegetation management in North Lake Tahoe |
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In an effort to reduce wildfire risk in North Lake Tahoe, the Placer County Board of Supervisors approved a $145,491 award to Bella Wildfire & Forestry Inc. to fund vegetation management and fuel load reduction work on 18 acres in Tahoe Vista.
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Town of Loomis (09/12/2024) Library Community Forum on 9/17/24 |
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The post Library Community Forum on 9/17/24 appeared first on Loomis, CA.
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